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Elder care abuse in Louisville

Are you comforted by reports of children caring for their elderly parents at home? Are you relieved these dependent elders don’t have to endure the sterile, marginal care in a nursing home? Readers of the Hans Poppe Law Firm website should think again about these “home sweet home” scenarios. It could protect your loved one from and suffering behind the veil of personal family care.

Considering elder abuse is more likely to occur at the hands of a family member than outside the home by a nurse, nurse’s aide or nursing facility staffer, according to the National Center for Elder Abuse in Washington, D.C.

And the abuse is happening in Louisville.

Neglect case "hits home"

In January of this year, WAVE-TV in Louisville reported the arrest of Kenneth Kurz, who was charged with neglect of his mother. When investigating authorities arrived at the Kurz residence, they found Susanna Kurz lying in her own waste.

WAVE reported Pam Cherry of Louisville’s Adult Protective Services receives 180-200 calls a month regarding individuals who have been abused, neglected or exploited. “Our cases seem to go up every year as people learn about elder abuse,” Cherry said.

Watch for warning signals

The public can be tipped on elder abuse by being vigilant in their neighborhood. Simply getting to know your neighbors and their lifestyle habits is a safeguard. “Maybe the yard starts looking non-manicured and maybe that person had a beautiful yard before that,” Cherry said.

Amanda Frederick, Louisville Metro Police Detective, said that knowing your neighbors makes it more likely you’ll notice changes for the worse, say in a house’s appearance. Frederick said many times, it’s a family member who is the abuser.

“Many of them (abusers) are unemployed or on disability or have very irregular employment,” Frederick said. “A lot of our perpetrators are grown children who still live at home. You go home and you think about it, particularly ones where the family is familiar to your own or one of the victims actually looked like my grandmother – that was a real hard case for me, personally,” she added.

If you have noticed a suspicious change in the home or grounds of an elder in your neighborhood, it is time to take action. Your first telephone call should be to the Louisville Adult Protective Services hotline at 502.595-4803. The office is at 908 W. Broadway, #6W. To protect the civil rights of a family member, friend or neighbor, take charge and call the attorneys at the Poppe Law Firm at 502.895.3400.

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